A hygienist calls in sick at 6:45 AM, and suddenly your morning schedule is a problem. Finding qualified coverage before your first patient arrives used to mean frantic phone calls and crossed fingers; now it can happen in a few taps.
This guide walks you through how dental temp staffing works, the difference between traditional agencies and modern marketplaces, what to look for in a platform, and how to post your first shift and start receiving applications.
What Is Dental Temp Staffing
Dental temp staffing is how practices bring in licensed professionals like hygienists, assistants, and dentists for temporary shifts. When someone on your team calls in sick, goes on maternity leave, or quits without notice, a temp can step in so you don’t have to cancel patients or close chairs.
Practices typically find temps through a few different channels. A dental temp agency is a company that keeps a roster of professionals and sends candidates your way when you call. A dental staffing marketplace works differently; it’s a tech platform where you post shifts directly, and professionals apply, which gives you more say in who you hire. Then there’s the personal sub list, your own network of people you’ve worked with before, though that option tends to fall short when emergencies hit.
The landscape has shifted quite a bit in recent years. Traditional dental employment agencies still exist, but many practices now use on-demand platforms that let them post a shift and receive applications within hours. Sometimes within minutes.
What Is Dental Temp Staffing
Dental temp staffing is how practices bring in licensed professionals like hygienists, assistants, and dentists for temporary shifts. When someone on your team calls in sick, goes on maternity leave, or quits without notice, a temp can step in so you don’t have to cancel patients or close chairs.
Practices typically find temps through a few different channels. A dental temp agency is a company that keeps a roster of professionals and sends candidates your way when you call. A dental staffing marketplace works differently; it’s a tech platform where you post shifts directly, and professionals apply, which gives you more say in who you hire. Then there’s the personal sub list, your own network of people you’ve worked with before, though that option tends to fall short when emergencies hit.
The landscape has shifted quite a bit in recent years. Traditional dental employment agencies still exist, but many practices now use on-demand platforms that let them post a shift and receive applications within hours. Sometimes within minutes.
How to Hire Dental Temp Staff Through a Staffing Marketplace
Using a dental staffing marketplace feels different from calling a traditional agency. You’re not waiting for someone to call you back with whoever happens to be available. Instead, you’re running the process yourself from start to finish.
1. Post Your Open Shift in Seconds
You enter the basics: date, time, the role you’re filling, and any special requirements like experience with certain software or procedures. Once you hit post, the shift goes out immediately to verified dental professionals in your area who are actively looking for work.
2. Review Verified Candidates
As applications come in, you can look through each professional’s profile. You’ll typically see credentials, years of experience, specialties, certifications, and ratings from other dental offices. The platform handles license verification on the back end, so you’re not chasing down paperwork or making calls to state boards.
3. Confirm Details and Communicate Through the App
After you’ve picked someone, in-app messaging lets you work out the logistics. You can share parking instructions, dress code expectations, arrival time, and any patient notes worth knowing ahead of time. This replaces the phone tag that tends to eat into your morning.
4. Complete the Shift and Rate the Professional
Once the shift wraps up, you confirm the hours worked and leave a rating. Your feedback helps other offices make informed decisions and builds the professional’s reputation on the platform for future shifts.
Types of Dental Professionals You Can Hire
Dental staffing platforms and agencies typically offer coverage across several roles. Knowing what’s available helps you plan for different scenarios.
Dental Hygienists
Hygienists handle cleanings, periodontal assessments, and patient education; these are services that bring in consistent revenue. They’re also one of the hardest roles to fill permanently right now. 90% of recruiting dentists call hygienist hiring extremely challenging, which makes temp coverage especially useful when your regular hygienist is out. Many practices specifically search for a dental hygiene temp agency because hygienist gaps happen often and hurt production quickly.
Dental Assistants
Dental assistants provide chairside support, manage sterilization, and keep patient flow moving. Even one missing assistant can slow down your entire schedule, which is why this is such a high-demand temp role. If you’ve ever searched for a dental assistant temp agency or temp agency for dental assistants, you already know how common these gaps are.
Associate Dentists
You might look for a temp dentist when your lead doctor is on vacation, out for medical leave, or when you want to add production days without committing to a permanent hire. Temp dentist positions tend to fill quickly, so posting early gives you a better selection of candidates.
Front Desk and Administrative Staff
Some platforms also connect you with front desk temps who can handle scheduling, patient check-in, and insurance verification. Not every dental staffing company offers administrative roles, but it’s worth checking if yours does, especially if your front desk person is the only one who knows the systems.
Dental Staffing Marketplace vs Traditional Dental Temp Agency
Both options can get a qualified professional into your office. However, they work quite differently in practice.
| Factor | Traditional Dental Temp Agency | Dental Staffing Marketplace |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | May take hours or days | Often filled within hours |
| Fees | Placement fees and markups are common | Often no subscription or posting fees |
| Control | Agency selects the candidate | You choose from applicants |
| Verification | Varies by agency | Credentials pre-verified in platform |
| Communication | Phone and email through agency | Direct in-app messaging |
Speed and On-Demand Access
Traditional dental employment agencies work best when you give them advance notice. If you’re searching for a dental temp agency near me at 7 AM because someone just called in sick, you might not hear back until mid-morning. Or later. Marketplaces push your shift out immediately to professionals who are already looking for work that day.
Cost and Fee Structure
Many traditional agencies charge placement fees or add markups to hourly rates. Dental staffing marketplaces often operate on a different model, with free posting and no subscription fees. The specifics vary from platform to platform, so comparing a few options before you commit makes sense.
Verification and Credentialing
Reputable dental staffing companies verify licenses, certifications, and credentials before professionals can accept shifts. Traditional agencies vary in how thoroughly they check—some are rigorous, others less so. With a marketplace, verification typically happens automatically through the platform before a professional can even apply.
Flexibility and Control
With a marketplace, you review candidates yourself and make the final call on who works in your office. With a traditional dental placement agency, you often get whoever happens to be available that day. If having a say in who walks through your door matters to you, the marketplace model offers more control over the outcome.
What to Look for in a Dental Staffing Agency or Platform
Not all dental hiring agencies or platforms work the same way. Before you sign up or post your first shift, a few factors are worth considering.
Credential Verification and Licensing
The platform or agency you choose handles state license verification, CPR certification checks, and role-specific credential reviews before professionals can accept shifts. You shouldn’t have to do this legwork yourself or worry about whether someone’s license is current.
OAI and Malpractice Coverage
OAI stands for Occupational Accident Insurance. it covers professionals in case of injury on the job. Malpractice coverage protects both your practice and the temp if something goes wrong during patient care.
- Bundled coverage: Some platforms include OAI and malpractice with every shift automatically
- Professional-carried coverage: Other platforms require professionals to maintain their own policies
Knowing which model your platform uses helps you understand what’s covered before someone starts working.
Cancellation Protection and Guaranteed Hours
Cancellation protection means the platform helps find replacement coverage if a temp cancels within a certain window, often 96 hours before the shift. Guaranteed hours ensure professionals get paid for the time they committed to, which makes your shifts more attractive to experienced talent who have options.
Ratings and Reviews from Other Dental Offices
Seeing how other practices rated a professional gives you real insight before you hire. Look for platforms that make ratings visible and easy to filter, so you can quickly identify professionals with strong track records.
In-App Communication and Scheduling Tools
The best dental staffing platforms include messaging, shift management, and scheduling features in one place. This keeps you from juggling multiple tools, losing track of conversations, or missing important details about an upcoming shift.
Benefits of On-Demand Dental Staffing for Your Practice
Beyond filling immediate gaps, on-demand dental staffing offers several practical advantages.
Fill Schedule Gaps and Avoid Lost Production
An empty chair means lost revenue. On-demand staffing lets you maintain patient volume even when your regular team is unavailable, so you’re not canceling appointments or turning patients away at the last minute.
Reduce Administrative Burden
Platforms handle verification, coverage logistics, and payment processing. That’s less work for your office manager and fewer phone calls eating into the day when there’s already plenty to do.
Scale Staffing to Match Patient Volume
During busy seasons or when you’re running a promotion, you can bring in extra help without committing to permanent hires. When things slow down, you scale back. This kind of flexibility is difficult to achieve with traditional staffing arrangements.
Access Thousands of Qualified Dental Temps
Your personal sub list might have five or ten names on it. A dental staffing marketplace connects you to thousands of verified professionals, which dramatically improves your odds of finding coverage, especially for hard-to-fill roles like hygienists, with ~15,300 openings projected annually through 2034.
How to Get Started with a Dental Temp Staffing Platform
Getting started takes just a few minutes. Here’s the typical process:
- Create your free account on GoTu
- Post your first shift and start receiving applications
GoTu offers free posting with no subscription fees, bundled OAI and malpractice coverage for every shift, and access to a large network of verified dental professionals. You can review candidates, communicate directly through the app, and fill shifts in hours rather than days.
